Getting your very first drone for aerial photography is always a great moment for any aspiring drone pilot. After all, working with drones and aerial photography is a completely different medium compared to traditional photography, and it’s a medium full of possibilities.
However, no matter how exciting getting your first drone it, it’s important to remember that you can’t just get up and fly your drone as soon as you get it. If you’d just gotten your very first drone, you may or may not be familiar with the requirements that you have to comply with.
If you are aware of the requirements, then consider this as a checklist of things to remember. And if you’re not familiar with the requirements, then allow up to help you with a list of things that you need to do when you get your first aerial photography drone.
Register your drone
If you’re going to be using your drone for commercial aerial photography services, then you’re definitely going to have to register your drone with the FAA.
All drones that weigh in between 250g to 25kg are required to be registered beforehand, regardless of your intention to use it. Make sure that the website that you register your drone in is the FAA website, and nowhere else.
Registering your drone is also useful for tracking your drone as it will be assigned a registration number. If you lose your drone and someone finds it, they can compare the number to the list that the FAA has, and find your information to return it to you.
Learn the laws
Depending on the country that you’re shooting your aerial photography in, there are a number of different drone laws to keep in mind. Because of the recent rise in popularity in shooting aerial photography, more countries are taking the proper measures to make sure that drone flying is properly regulated.
This is to help create a more safe environment for drone pilots and the people around them. No matter what country you live in, always learn the local drone regulation laws to make sure that you don’t violate any of them.
Get registered
If you’re planning on flying your drone for commercial purposes, in the same way that you have to register your drone, you yourself have to get a license to fly your drone. If you’re flying your drone recreationally, then there is no need to get a license.
Learn how to fly your drone
Of course, before you can get started on shooting aerial photography, you have to learn how to fly your drone. Make sure that you practice flying your drone before your practice shooting your photography. It is highly recommended that you get a sturdy, yet cheap drone to practice on.